Jaws

We’re going to need a bigger boat! Did you know that Jaws is the highest grossing Massachusetts film ever? Not many people know that this Spielberg classic depicts the island Martha’s Vineyard as the shark-ridden Amity Island. While the location was ideal for the setting of a New England beach, it actually caused quite a few issues in the filming process.

Many people accredit the scare-factor of the shark to the fact that it is not often seen in the movie. The script originally had the shark in the film much more than the released version; however, the mechanical sharks built for the movie had many problems which curtailed their film time. Rumor has it the sharks were developed in California freshwater pools and couldn’t function properly in the extremely salty waters of Martha’s Vineyard.

The sharks used in the movie also had a name – Bruce. Spielberg named the sharks after his lawyer, Bruce Ramer, who had a reputation for being vicious in deals and also represented other Hollywood names such as Clint Eastwood.

* In an effort to stay current, we are constantly updating our tours with new locations and cannot guarantee the presence of locations mentioned on our site. If you have a particular interest in locations from a specific TV show or movie, please let your tour guide know and we will do our best to accommodate your request.